Chugiak sends 47 athletes to camp prior to official start Aug. 4

By DAVID MORSE

Published: 2014.08.06 11:00 PM

Members of the Chugiak High football program participate in warmup drill prior to a scrimmage during the team camp held at Colony High last week. Forty-seven players from the school attended the camp, held Monday through Thursday.

DAVID MORSE

Incoming first-year Chugiak varsity football coach Roger Spackman got a good look at his charges, with 47 athletes coming out for the team camp hosted at Colony High last week.

Four teams – Chugiak, West Anchorage, North Pole and the host Knights – took part in the camp, held Monday through Thursday, with players on the field nearly seven hours daily, reported Spackman, who previously coached varsity football at East Anchorage High.

The coach said he saw good improvement throughout the week, with the team finishing out particularly strong Thursday. College coaches were also on hand, leading players through individual and group drill stations.

“I was very pleased with how things worked out by the end of the week,” he said.

Spackman said he was also pleased with the players conditioning coming into the season, as many also took part in the All Alaska Football Camp, also at Colony, in late June.

The coach said his team’s strengths appear to be in the skill positions at linebacker, running back and wide receiver. Spackman said that with returner starter Ben Steward, now a junior, at quarterback, the offensive game should be sound.

Early season challenges will be on the line, both defensively and offensively.

“We’re young and we are not that big,” he said, noting that understanding of positioning and line of attack will be paramount for the team’s success in the trenches.

“I expect to have 100 players turn out for the team,” he said Sunday evening, the night prior to the first day of practice.

Spackman said that 60 athletes had already registered for the team by last week.

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